Mexico got their CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign off to the perfect start with a 4-0 win over Honduras as they look to move past a poor Nations League performance that saw coach Diego Cocca sacked after just four months in charge, while a stoppage time winner from Frantzdy Pierrot gave Haiti a 2-1 victory over Qatar.
A revamped Mexican team, led by interim coach Jaime Lozano, scored less than a minute into the game through midfielder Luis Romo, who then headed home from a corner in the 22nd minute to make it 2-0.
Orbelin Pineda scored six minutes after the break to put the game out of reach before midfielder Luis Chavez took the ball from defender Devron Garcia to score Mexico’s fourth goal in the 64th minute.
“We did a very good job, all the players are inter-ested in what the coach [Lozano] proposes, we have to be confident, this is the first step of a long path,” Pineda said.
The change in the Mexican team’s mindset left both fans and players satisfied, with Lozano saying there is plenty of room for improvement. “I am very happy for the faith in me from the players, the peo-ple and the directors. This is a new beginning,” he added.
The win leaves Mexico top of Group ‘B’. They face second-placed Haiti on Thursday while Honduras take on Qatar.
Qatar, featuring as a guest team in the tournament for the second time, took the lead in the 20th minute through Yusuf Abdurisag.
Haiti keeper Alexandre Pierre dropped a high cross and in the resulting scramble Mostafa Meshaal slipped the ball back to Abdurisag who curled the ball into the far corner.
The Caribbean nation, whose team operate at just a fraction of the budget of the 2022 World Cup hosts, drew level on the stroke of half-time from the pen-alty spot. Pierrot’s shot hit the outstretched arm of defender Tarek Salman
